The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
The Internet and other online mechanisms have enabled creation of online virtual identities and pseudonyms. There are many services and tools that provide online communities where netizens (a term for citizens of these virtual spaces) meet and interact. Sometimes these meetings and interactions lead to meetings and real-world interactions. The individuals involved do not necessarily have verifiable information regarding the other person(s).
Part of the reason that this is true is because it is very easy for individuals to create and shed virtual identities. Some systems anchor an identity to some other reference, like an e-mail address. However these e-mail addresses are very easy to proliferate and obtain and shed, making such anchors less valuable for contexts that desire greater verification.
There are many situations where a user would like an increased level of user verification. Even in cases where there is an online reputation system, those systems may be compromised and artificially skewed in one direction or another. Online dating that develops into a real-world meeting, or a commerce site where parties meet to exchange real-world items are particularly well-known examples where the parties are advantaged by having some sense that a person that they are meeting is, in fact, the virtual entity and/or that the online reputation information that was used in developing a decision about interacting with the person represented by the virtual identification is authentic.
There have been conventional approaches to obtaining user identification (e.g., fingerprint(s)) using portable computing platforms. However these systems have required that special fingerprint image scanners be installed into these platforms. The extra cost and limited function are deterrents to adoption of remote ID verification, and the inability to have effective and robust remote ID verification have limited development of systems that rely on collection/use of such information. Many portable computing embodied in smartphones, tablets and the like having cameras, yet these cameras are typically viewed as insufficient to function as fingerprint imagers sufficient for use in identification.
What is needed is a system and method for relating information to individuals prior to, during and after interactions, e.g., in-person meetings initiated through on-line virtual introductions or other introductions of previously unknown individuals, to enable confidence related to the security of a transaction, e.g., personal safety of all parties to a face-to-face encounter.